[Chlamydiosis: diagnosis and role in human pathology]

The paper presents the data reported in literature on the taxonomy of chlamydia, their tinctorial properties and modes of infection. It comes as evidence for the significance of urogenital chlamydiosis, including venereal lymphogranuloma. The morphological characteristics of the former abnormal condition are reported. Then the paper analyses intrauterine chlamydiosis and provides the results of the author's own investigations that suggest that its manifestations are largely similar to those of intrauterine mycoplasmosis. There is detailed information on respiratory chlamydiosis (ornithosis, psittacosis) and eye diseases (trachoma and paratrachoma). Finally, benign lymphoreticulosis (cat-scratch disease) is briefly reported too. Special emphasis is laid on extremely high incidence of chlamydiosis, in terms of laboratory and epidemiological data, and on little evidence for its structural changes. Nevertheless, the author considers that chlamydiosis may be suspected by the presence of basically homogeneous morphological changes in various diseases caused by different chlamydia, as evidenced by a light microscopy. This is especially important for a pediatric pathologist in his practice. Since even if the diagnosis is supposed to be established in a baby who has died in the perinatal period or upon examination of his/her afterbirth, the parents should undergo clinical and laboratory examinations followed by therapy as the need arises.